Recently I was very excited to be featured in Sarah Shaw’s weekly blog interview series on the entreprenette.  Sarah is a force of nature when it comes to product development and promotion and when I think of people that are doing social media the right way, I think of her.  In this interview, Sarah asks a lot of great questions.  For those companies that are involved in developing new retail products, like clothing lines, handbags, accessories, etc. this information will prove to be especially helpful.  I explain why great content is essential to connecting with your prospects.  Content is no longer just required, it is the currency of the web.  Listen now!

Check out Sarah’s entreprenette.com for information on her private coaching and other services and be sure to Follow the entreprenette on facebook and twitter!

This week in “Profiles in New Business Leadership” we are featuring social media expert, blogger and host of the Amateur Traveler podcast, Chris Christensen.  Chris lives in the Silicon Valley and is a consultant for the LiveWorld internet community.  He has also worked for IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Momenta and Apple Computer.  By night, he is an avid blogger and podcaster.  Here are some tips Chris had to share with us about Social Media…

In your opinion, what are the best practices for social media strategy?

1. Make sure your products and services are worth talking about. If you have a bad product your social media strategy is to get serious about improving your product first!
2. Make sure you have a business strategy and a marketing strategy. Companies that try and form a twitter strategy without having an overall plan are heading fast in no particular direction.
3. Start blogging first if you do nothing else. A blog is a great home base for the rest of your strategy. Find your voice. Don’t just talk about your products but talk about what interests you and what interests your customers.
4. Find an authentic voice. I have never read a press release that reads like people actually talk. Read “The Clue Train Manifesto” and “Made to Stick” if you need to re-learn how to communicate.
5. Provide value in your blog, podcast, tweets, updates, etc. Don’t think of social media as just one more way to send out the same old brand message.

What is the absolute best way to grow your number of followers on Twitter?
Be interesting. There are certainly tactics like contests, interacting with popular twitterers and following back virtually everyone that will give you higher numbers but over time if you are not interesting you will not retain followers. One thing to know is twitterers like humor… a lot.

What is the best way for companies to see an ROI from social media/networking?
Some areas like crowd sourced support boards are very easy to calculate an ROI while other areas are more difficult. Your bottom line for your companies is to sell more widgets so eventually all activities, including social media, need to be measured by how they help you achieve that goal. Most social media activities should be thought of as customer retention activities and valued that way.

How can a social media rookie get up to speed quickly?  Where should they focus their energies first? Social media takes time.  Someone has to take the time to be involved in it. There are a great number of books out there. For executives, I would recommend Ron Ploof’s book, “Read This First.” Also check to see if there is a Social Media Breakfast or a Social Media Camp in your area which is a wonderful place to associate with people who know social media… perhaps consider bringing in a social media consultant like me!

By Jon Wuebben

Transparency.  What is that?  We’ve heard the word but some of us might be a little confused as to what is really meant by it.

Look, you are already totally exposed on the internet, so what’s the difference, right?  Privacy is a thing of the past and we all need to get used to it. It’s just the nature of the beast. I’m sure people in the 1800’s didn’t always like the fact that they had to carry a candle around at night to see things, but they dealt with it. Every age has its uncomfortable realities.

But, you see, you can really use this to your advantage.  Your customers want you to be open.  If they see this, it will motivate them to do business with you.  A good customer seeks to make you better.  And they will.  And you will thank them.

To illustrate the idea of transparency, I want to talk about Glenn Kelman of Redfin real estate.

A few years ago, Kelman was the newly hired CEO of Redfin and was as he puts it, “the ugly red-haired child” in the real estate world. Redfin was trying to turn the industry upside down by refunding people two-thirds of the commission that real estate agents normally charge.  Customers loved the idea – why the heck did you need to hand over 6 percent of the price of your house, anyway?  But agents hated it for destroying their fat margins, so they began blacklisting Redfin, refusing to sell houses to anyone who used the service. Kelman was struggling to close deals for his clients.

So finally, Kelman set up a Redfin blog and began posting witty screeds about the nasty underbelly of the real estate business.  He publicized Redfin’s internal debates, even arguments about the design of its Web site.  He mocked himself.  Old-school agents were unleashing hissing attacks on Redfin.  Kelman left the critiques in and lashed right back, in full view of his customers.  His enemies got nervous. And customers loved it.  More and more signed on to use Redfin and Kelman and his crew began closing several deals a day. “Instead of discouraging customers, being open about our problems radicalized them,” Kelman says. “They rallied and started pulling for us.”  Like some crazed convert, he trumpeted his epiphany: “I honestly believe that if Redfin were stripped absolutely bare for all the world to see, naked and humiliated in the sunlight, more people would do business with us.” Follow me, he urged.

And many have. Radical forms of transparency are now the norm at startups – and even some Fortune 500 companies. It is a strange and abrupt reversal of corporate values. Not long ago, the only public statements a company ever made were professionally written press releases and the rare, stage-managed speech by the CEO.

“You can’t hide anything anymore,” says Don Tapscott, coauthor of The Naked Corporation, a book about corporate transparency. Tapscott explains a core truth of the see-through age: If you engage in corporate flimflam, people will find out. He ticks off example after example of corporations that have recently been humiliated after being caught trying to conceal stupid blunders.  For example, there’s Sony, which put a rootkit – a piece of spyware – on music CDs as a secret copy-protection technique, only to wind up in court when bloggers revealed that the code left their computers vulnerable to hacker intrusions.  …Your customers are going to poke around in your business anyway, and your workers are going to blab about internal info – so why not make it work for you by turning everyone into a partner in the process and inviting them to do so?

Some of this isn’t even about business; it’s a cultural shift, a redrawing of the lines between what’s private and what’s public. A generation has grown up blogging, posting a daily phone cam picture on Flickr and listing its geographic position in real time on Dodgeball and Google Maps. For them, authenticity comes from online exposure. It’s hard to trust anyone who doesn’t list their dreams and fears on Facebook.

Here is the deal: It’s not secrets that are dying, but lies.  One bad blog post can kill you. But if you’ve got hundreds or thousands of sites linking to you and commenting on you, the law of averages takes over, and odds are the opinion will be accurate: The cranks will be outweighed by cooler heads.  Again, the net rewards the transparent.

Recently I was a guest on Debra Simpson’s blog talk radio program “Syndicating Your Content.”  We discussed content strategy, SEO for small business and how to leverage your content across the internet.  Like Debra, I’m a big believer in syndication and making your time efficient when you create and distribute your content.  Focusing on your core competencies is central to growing your business.  Think of syndication and outsourcing as two cornerstone strategies for both connecting with your prospects and growing your business.  Listen HERE!

The “Profiles in New Business Leadership” series will be a new and ongoing feature at the Content Rich blog featuring interviews with social media experts, SEO gurus and content marketing strategists.  Get ready to learn from the brightest minds in business today!  We begin with Rich Brooks of flyte new media.

Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media, a Web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, Maine. His monthly flyte Log email newsletter and company blog focus on Web marketing topics such as search engine optimization, blogs, social media, email marketing, and building Web sites that sell. Rich is currently an Expert Blogger at FastCompany.com and a Featured Blogger at MaineBusiness.com.  He is a co-founder of Social Media FTW, an organization putting on conferences and events to educate small businesses and non-profits about the power of social media marketing.  He is a nationally recognized speaker on Web marketing topics such as search engine optimization, blogging, social media, email marketing and analytics and the “tech guru” on WCSH Channel 6’s evening news show.  He also teaches a Web marketing course for entrepreneurs at the University of Southern Maine’s Center for Continuing Education.

How is flyte driving better results for companies (vs. other SEM’s)? Well, we don’t see SEO as an end all and be all. SEO is part of a larger Web marketing package that includes blogging, email marketing, social media and having a Web site that converts. If you’re not firing on all cylinders, you’re being left behind.

Whats the latest in the SEO world? What are people talking about and whats hot? Search is splintering; depending on your location, whether you’re logged in or not, and your previous search history, you may get different results for the same search than I do. Search on mobile devices and soon in cars makes it even a crazier landscape. SEO will always be important, but it’s just one distribution channel these days. You also have to get your message out via blogs, email newsletters, social media, teleclasses, webinars, whatever! Use the tools and the channels your audience uses and you’ll succeed.

Why do so many web designers not know SEO? What advice would you give companies when they look for a web design company? Search and design are two completely different disciplines. That being said, designers would be smart to have a basic understanding of SEO so they could build search engine friendlier sites. They could still hire an outside consultant to help them with the nitty gritty, like keyword analysis, SEO copywriting and link building, or anything else they didn’t want to do. For companies who are in need of a new web site, I think it’s important to start with your goals. If your goal is to get more quality leads to your site and convert them, a pretty web site will only help so much. If attracting new prospects is a strategy to achieve your business goals, you’re going to need to hire someone who knows SEO, blogging, and these days, social media. Social Media Optimization is the new SEO.

Local Search: do you see more companies contacting you for these services?  Whats happening with local search right now? We’re not seeing companies contact us specifically for local search, but we bring it up if we feel local is where they need to be. It’s obviously important if you’re geographically challenged, like a doctor or a pizzeria or a massage therapist, as well as if you’re a store or B&B in a tourist town. It’s most important to claim your listing in the local search engines, and then you can go in an tweak your listings, add photos, video, and information about your company. It’s also essential to get customers to write reviews of your business on a regular basis. If you want to do better in local search, check out GetListed.org…it’s an amazing resource.

Which email marketing vendors do you like and why? There are quite a few ones out there, but we’re partial to Constant Contact. I like how we can really customize the look and feel of our clients’ email newsletters so the branding from their Web site and blog is carried over. The only thing missing from Constant Contact is a/b split testing. You hear me, CC?

How important is content and content strategy to the overall online game? It’s all about content strategy. You can’t succeed on the Web unless you are talking about what your customers are interested in and searching for, and using the language they use. First you need to know what they’re interested in, then you need to use the distribution channels they’re comfortable with: Web site, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

Thank you Rich for your insight into current business trends.  We look forward to hearing more from you in the upcoming months!

Recently, I presented my new magnum opus: The Content Rich Online Marketing Summit. Reviewing all the important online marketing strategies and tactics, the Summit is an action packed, 2 hour seminar that focuses on results. My goal with these events is to distill it down to the most important teachings and give everyone that came a ton of substance – no fluff – minimal storytelling and lots of step-by-step instructions.  I don’t know about you, but so many of the seminars I attend are either a total sales pitch or a bunch of stories stitched together by “get rich quick talking heads.” I’m a busy guy, I don’t want “feel good” anecdotes – I want information!

The inaugural 105 min event (outlined below) was attended by small business people from all over San Diego County and is now available for purchase for only $29.95. It’s action packed and covers the entire spectrum of online marketing and from the feedback we’ve received, attendees got A LOT out of the meeting.  The goal?  To take it to as many places as we can, spreading the good news of online marketing strategy everywhere we go… Everything for the Beginner.  Ideas for the Experts.  Check out these clips from some of my recent events!

Here’s how we break it down at Content Rich “Live” (as it’s also called):

I. Elements of Strategy

• Keyword Research
• Competitive Research
• Content
• Improving Usability – Design
• Social Media
• RSS/Social Bookmarking
• Blogging
• Link Building
• Sub Strategies based on type of business
• Local Companies
• E-Commerce and other web businesses

II. Tactics

• Web Content – Copywriting
• Landing Pages
• Meta Tags
• Email – Newsletter Marketing
• Press Releases
• Articles
• White Papers, e-books, reports, demos (free offer content)
• Advertising – PPC/ Banner Ads
• Video Content
• Audio Content (podcasts / webinars)

III.  Bringing It All Together – Growing Your Business

• 12 Step Plan
• How do you get all this stuff done?
• Analytics – Measure Your Progress
• The Future of Online Marketing

The main reason for doing these seminars?  #1) A desire to get out there and help as many companies as possible and, #2) the fact that a startling number of small businesses out there do not understand, value or are fearful of Web 2.0 strategies. Perhaps it’s because I’m so focused and surrounded by web type people, but the second point is the interesting one. I would say there are probably a couple million businesses that fall into this category. Why? Lots of misinformation floating around and lots of busy people. With The Content Rich Online Marketing Summit, I hope to change that.

My goal for the Summit, is, of course, a big one: The final date will be a ½ day Blow Out Event, with 500 attendees, lots of great learning and multiple “Tier 1” Marketing Speakers…one date in LA and one in New York City…look for this later this year.

Have some ideas you could contribute or interested in presenting with us?  Let me know!

It’s time to get content rich!

Content Is More Than Copy

I always have to remind people that content is much more than simply words on a page. Perhaps this is the most important form of online content, but it’s certainly not the only type, especially now. And yes, I did write the book, Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t discuss video, audio and other types of content every day…because I do.

Ask yourself, what types of content does my audience respond to? Who am I trying to reach? Product videos can be very compelling if you sell electronic goods, for example. Videos give your website a nice personalized touch. How about a video from the CEO of your company welcoming people to your blog?  People that see these videos may share them with their friends. If they do, then you have just made an effective social media play!

And what about Podcasts? They are hugely popular. Think of all the commuters in cars – don’t they need something to listen to? Of course.  Many people don’t have time to surf their favorite blogs or watch a video. Using your expert status, you can create a show that covers all the important topics of your industry and make it available to thousands of people who want to know what you think and may even want to do business with you.

III. HOW YOU CAN GET IT ALL DONE

So, all this social media content stuff is great but how do you start it and how do you get it all done? Well, you are not alone. This is the number one question I get asked when I go out and speak about social media. Well, you’ll be happy to know that your social media content development process is all taken care of…at least a plan to set up your own process that is…

1. First, understand who your audience is. Who are the stakeholders? And what do they want to know about?
2. What are the top industry issues? What type of content is popular? See which other companies are involved in the social media space for your industry.
3. Are any important bloggers in your industry talking about these issues? This is important to know. These are folks that you will either partner with; compete with, debate with or all of the above. Research this by going to Technorati, delicious and Google Blogsearch
4. Where are the top bloggers and influencers in the Social Media space?  Which groups do they belong to on Facebook? Who are the guys in your industry with 10K followers on Twitter? And what about LinkedIn? You want to analyze what they are discussing and find out how you can fit in.
5. Join the conversation in these places. Comment on blogs and social networks in a non-promotional way. Get to know people and become part of the community. Make your thoughts known!
6. Determine who will create the content. If you are more than a one person show, get more than one person involved. Assign a schedule and make the person (or people) responsible.  You can also invite guest bloggers to contribute to your blog.
7. Put together a content strategy/schedule and then start creating content!

As I read somewhere recently, “Creating great content for your social network starts with preparation. Get to know the community and the types of content they like before spending your time and energy on content development. Once you know the people and what content plays well, you have lots of choices — lists, interviews, and stories are almost always popular with any social media community. None of this, of course, comes easy. Like any type of marketing that’s worthwhile, patience and persistence are a must.” Great advice…I agree!

Final Notes

Do Your Research- This practically goes without mentioning, but it’s so important that I chose to end with it. No matter what type of content you are developing, the first step to crafting it is to do your research. And don’t just look at 2-3 sources, review ten or more. It’s good to get perspective.

Write an Attention Getting Headline- Your headline is probably the most important factor for determining how popular your social media content becomes. Look at the concept of Status Updates on Facebook. Make it enticing enough for people to want to know more!

Follow with a Great Opening- The hardest part of anything is starting it, right? Well, the most important part of social media content (right in line with the headline) is how you begin the blog post, article, video or whatever. You got to keep them interested! If not, they will click away from you within 3 seconds.

Be Conversational- The key word in social media is “social.” You need to interact! Boring, tired content will not bring you or your readers into the conversation. If they were there right in front of you, how would you talk to them? Write like that.

Never Give Up – Social media marketing requires a long-term commitment. Produce great content, learn from your mistakes and tweak your approach until it starts working. Remember, social media is not about making money, it’s about relationships and building community.

In Summary…

So, there you go. Hopefully, you’ve learned a few things. Remember, the best way to start integrating social media with existing web content is to audit your use of text, audio, images, and video. What are you currently doing? How can you transition it to the social media space? Analyze your client’s communications, and figure out ways that social media could help continue and improve upon those conversations.

Social Media is amazing for so many reasons, but what it really comes down to is improved communication. With social media content, you are addressing three issues simultaneously: Shifting conversations to a different medium; allowing for easier updating of content; and reaching a wider audience. And what a phenomenal opportunity to do it!

When you know your market, understand what’s important to them and give them the content that addresses these important things, you will not only enjoy a beneficial social media presence, but you will dominate your space and be well positioned to take advantage of future online marketing developments.

Other Ways to Link Bait

Contests

Another thing you can do to build link‐friendly content is to run a contest or sweepstakes on your blog (or your Twitter or Facebook page). It doesn’t have to be expensive – you could give away your services, actually. For me, being an online copywriter and marketing consultant, I could give away 10 pages of free content. I haven’t done that yet, but I could. It would probably go off very well. What could you give away? Once you decide, promote it and blog about it like crazy…on every social media channel at your disposal!

Interviews

Finally, to build some high quality link bait or “link friendly” content, you could interview prominent people in your industry. How about that for an idea? You know that these people you interview will link to you, right? Absolutely they will. Most of the prominent people out there in any field appreciate the added exposure. Play off that and get some great traffic as a result! Try this on your YouTube channel next week…

Product or Service Reviews

There are a million products or services that your target market would love to read about. What are they? Think about what your customers like. What do they use in their lives?  You may want to even survey them to find out. The great thing about reviews is that they are easy to write and give you instant content. Plus, you’ll get people who want to link to them, especially if it’s a review for a popular product or service.

The secret, of course, with all of these link bait approaches is that you need to have people see what you write. It’s all useless without being seen by your peers. And if you are brand new on the scene, it can be a challenge. So, how do you do it? For starters, link to them in your post, send emails to them, call them, post to delicious, etc. Add them as a friend on Facebook, follow them on Twitter…whatever it takes!

If you can get at least one prominent blogger in your niche to take notice, the rest will most likely follow. Remember, the web is a community and you need to reach out to others who can help you. In turn, you will help them. And it’s more than simply acting professionally or ensuring you behave appropriately on the web ‐ It’s a basic tenant of life.

Sharing Knowledge

What about gracing others with your supreme intellect by giving away your own knowledge? Your personal experience with clients and industry expertise in your field will definitely be of interest to others in your social community. From “how to” or review videos (think Gary Vaynerchuk) to writing “cornerstone” content for your blog, providing your knowledge to others establishes you as the clear authority, motivating people to get in on the conversation and be a part of your online social media world.

Getting involved with social media is fantastic for developing an audience of new customers, partners and others – including the media!

Using Lists

And then there are Lists. Top 10 whatever. Top 100 whatever – think David Letterman here…but even better.  Not just funny, but interesting and thought provoking. There is just something about lists that people love. It probably mimics the way we think. Our brains enjoy structure.   A good list will also encourage debate.  Be sure to give your readers some solid hooks to remember what was on your list too.
Debate a Popular Figure

For those adventurous types, you can light the social media world on fire by debating another popular member of your community or taking the contrarian view on a particular topic. Think about it: some of the best arguments and debates of all time got massive exposure. From “Coke vs. Pepsi” to “Tastes great, less filling” with Miller beer, disagreeing with conventional wisdom can become very powerful social media content.

Whatever type of social media content that you decide to write, be sure to make it about them in one way or another. And when I say them, I mean your audience.

Twitter: The Rise of a “New Type” of Web Content

What is Twitter? It is the ultimate in microblogging. It is one of the fastest growing web apps ever in the history of the web itself.

PC Magazine’s encyclopedia says that Twitter is a “web site and service that lets users send short text messages up to 140 characters in length to a group of people. Launched in 2006, Twitter was designed to keep friends and colleagues informed about one’s daily activities.

Twitter is increasingly used by businesses to tell customers and prospects “what’s new.” In addition, politicians and celebrities use it to keep constituents and fans informed.Twitter messages (“tweets”) are not sent indiscriminately; they are only distributed to recipients who elected to become followers. Messages can also be sent via instant messaging, the Twitter Web site or a third-party Twitter application. A Twitter message is a “tweet,” and an ongoing stream of Twitter messages is a “Twitter feed.”

So, how is Twitter inspiring a whole new type of content and communication style?

Well, they say that body language is 70% of communication.  The way people say things, their facial expressions, what they are really saying behind that smile…are all critical to the communication being understood for the exchange to be meaningful. Of course, in the online world…via email, instant messaging, social media sites and the rest, where we don’t see people in front of us, there is no way we can duplicate this right? Right.

Or maybe there is. Think about it – Because we have the opportunity to so “expose” ourselves online, in many different formats and unique ways and – here is the kicker – via online video, we are now able to communicate almost identically to how we communicate in person, and some would contend, even better. Well, at least more efficiently!

So, the future: We all have less time. We all will need to do more with less. We all of us will need to communicate with each other. Could the Twitter dynamic…that of short, but substantive, in your face interaction be the template for future content and future communication?

I think, yes.  Why? It works. It’s simple. And it aligns with our need for quick, meaningful communication. Yes, not all tweets are substantive. But we are getting really good at filtering this stuff out. What is twitter?  It’s a template for future online communication. How do we use Twitter? Often and with purpose.

Here is the deal: Future content, quite a bit of it anyway, will be “micro” in nature…tailored to a specific little group, addressing their needs or wants and delivered in short bursts. Customized, clear, with a call to action…a call to action that addresses something you want or need right now. The reason it will be more impactful?  Because the quicker you can address what someone wants right now, the quicker they will be to respond to it, especially when there will be others offering the same thing.

Future case in point: If there is a Starbucks and a Peet’s Coffee location, both close to where you are when you suddenly want a Carmel Machiatto, the one that gets you the virtual coupon via your mobile device first will get your business, right?  (This would be assuming you opted for them to have your contact information, of course).

In the past, I have received some heat for making the assertion that you could market your products and services through Twitter. And although I very much agree that blatant self-promotion is not what you do with social media, connecting with others who may benefit from what you are offering IS a part of it.  And I personally don’t mind it at all.

Is Twitter altering the very way we communicate?  Time will tell.

by Jon Wuebben

II.  Types of Social Media Content

So if social media is any online media that allows users to interact with one another, there are probably many different types of social media right? Yes, that’s right. Here is a list of the unique forms of social media and which sites are the most important.

Social networking – Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn,

Social networking sites allow users to add friends, send messages and share content on either the “one-to-many” or “many-to-many” format. Typically, people on social networking sites get together in communities of like-minded interest. More on Twitter in a bit…

Social bookmarking – StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious

Social bookmarking applications allow users to share their favorite online content with one another while by creating online bookmarks. The bookmarks are on a web site so other people can then see your bookmarks and ideally be exposed to something that they wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Some social bookmarking sites, like StumbleUpon and Digg, use a voting system that allows users to indicate what bookmarks they found interesting.

Blogs – WordPress, TypePad, Blogger, etc

Most people have interacted with blogs for many years now. Essentially they are online journals where a company or individual discusses anything they want to – reviews of products, opinions on industry news, interviews, etc.. and shares this with their blog subscribers.  More often than not, subscribers and visitors to the blog are invited to comment and share their feedback on each blog posting…this provides great opportunity for interaction and exchange of thoughts and ideas with your audience/customers.

Wikis - Wikipedia

A wiki refers to content created online by multiple users working on the same content, but at different times and from different places.

Photo sharing – Flickr, Photobucket

Photo sharing sites allow people to upload and organize photo libraries to share with anyone they like.

Video Sharing – YouTube

Sites like YouTube have revolutionized online video, allowing users to share video content either privately or publicly.  Conveniently, they serve as a free video hosting service by allowing you to embed your videos and other content from YouTube to your blog.

Presentation Sharing – Slideshare.net, Scribd

Have a Powerpoint deck that you want to share with lots and lots of people? No problem. Using a site like Slideshare, you can upload as many presentations as you like and even get some SEO benefit by doing so.

Obviously, in this “age of social media”, there are hundreds of sites to choose from. Selecting the right social media channels for your company or individual tastes is based on your specific preferences, goals and long term content strategies. If you are a business, you naturally want to go where your target market, customers and partners are. If you are an individual who simply wants to connect with friends, go to where they go.

Using Link bait in Social Media

So, I bring up the concept of link baiting. And if you have read my e-book, Writing Link Friendly Content, you’ll see this information there as well. It’s just too important to not include!

But what is it?

Link bait is used to describe viral, linkable content designed to attract thousands of links and is recognized as one of the most effective ways to build links – and relevance for a site. So link baiting is really building link‐friendly content. It’s also a great way to approach social media content – because it gets people interested.

The traditional way of getting links circa 2004 and before involved contacting other relevant websites, emailing the webmasters and asking for a link. You’d contact people you know – vendors, partners, customers, suppliers and “reciprocate” links. You would carefully explain in your email that linking to you would be worthwhile for their visitors and beneficial to them as well…and you’d spend hundreds of hours doing it.

Why didn’t someone in the know just explain to them that all they had to do was write solid content and the links would come? Of course, you have to promote it too, but perhaps they were looking for the easy way out. Ironically, the easier way is to write high quality, very popular, link friendly content. With link bait, you can do this.

First, as all the experts will tell you ‐ you need a good “hook” for your blog posts, Tweets or Facebook Status Updates. A hook is the angle or the way of grabbing attention from the reader. You do it by capitalizing on something that’s really important to most people – security, money, respect, gossip, new ideas, a secret, etc…and give it a little sizzle.

Types of Hooks:

• Tying in to what’s relevant – the News Hook
• Going against the grain – the Contrary Hook
• Taking the offensive position – the Attack Hook
• Providing something important – the Resource Hook
• Making people laugh – the Humor Hook

Tying in to what’s relevant - News Hook

• Find out who reports the news to the news reporting agencies – and then jump on it.
• Calling someone or something out – if you can expose a fraud or flaw in a news story, and report on it, that content you wrote could be very link friendly. You could have thousands of links very quickly.
• Giving your opinion on a popular news story
• Don’t rehash what someone else already reported though – give it your own slant

Going against the grain - Contrary Hook

• Are you a natural contrarian? Put it to use! Be the one guy that finds something to not like about a story, a product or service and then go off on them.
• “Why <insert prominent blogger or company name here> is WRONG about…”
• Find something that’s really really popular and then tear it apart. People will notice.

Taking the offensive position - Attack Hook

• Pointing out why a particular product or service is doing more harm than good
• Going after the government re. almost anything – they are a great target
• Standing up for an under‐represented or disadvantaged group
• Choose a topic that has a fair degree of truth on both sides and then write away!
• Make it informed, smart and very controversial.

You have to be careful with this one – you don’t want to write the wrong thing about the wrong person. A good idea is to go after a company or product instead of an individual. However, if you’re gutsy, have some proof for what you are claiming and really want to gain some instant traffic, it can give you instant credibility and build your reputation like wildfire. Most people love controversy and when you use an attack hook, you stir it up.

Providing something important - Resource Hook

• Develop a comprehensive list of blogs in your niche ‐ link out to them, and chances are they will link to you
• Create a useful tool related to your niche that people like
• The list concept: How to do ____. Make it substantive and link friendly!
• A compilation of news stories on a theme that you in turn analyze and create a post for
• Example: If you run a hotel, discuss all the places to visit in the surrounding area

Making people laugh – the Humor Hook

• Photoshop a funny picture or cartoon for the subject you are writing about and post it
• Post a list that takes a funny slant: ie “Top 20 Ways I’m Going to Work from Bed This Week”
• Post idea: “You know you’re a _____when…”
• Play off another funny bit that you came across: jokes, funny stories, etc.. People love to laugh right? They also need comic relief from the craziness of life on the web. Or life in general. If you have a natural way of lightening things up through your personality, you may be able to write that way too. Give it a shot. With your next blog post. You’ll create some link friendly content in the process.

Tomorrow in part 3 of this series, I’ll discuss other types of Link Bait and Twitter.

by Jon Wuebben

Social Media. Heard of it? Unless you have been sent in a rocket ship to space for the past couple years, you probably not only know about it – but are digging into it and may be a very active participant. It has been the biggest thing to hit the business world since the Internet itself…plain and simple. Whether you are a business with a fan page on Facebook, a Twitter page and a You Tube channel, or a just a regular guy or gal who is re-connecting with old friends through social media, it has affected practically ALL of us.

So, what is Social Media?   Wikipedia says this…

“Social Media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogs (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content”

And what are we talking about when we say social media content? When you write for social media it could take the form of blog posts, “tweets” on Twitter, videos that you share on Facebook or YouTube and sites that you stumble on social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon.

But knowing how to write and publish content for a social media world can be a challenge – and very time consuming. How do you do it and why is it important? We’ll get to that very soon…

Social Media is expanding like crazy…

It seems like with every blog I frequent, the topics covered have morphed into a social media cornucopia of delights. The topic used to just be “social media” …now it’s subdivided and multiplied into a number of sub-topics within the larger umbrella.  From video marketing and distribution to Social media tools; social media training and advertising to integrating social media and traditional media, the list is endless.  And despite all of this activity and buzz, there are many thousands of companies out there – large and small that are still resisting – or confused about it.

Why?  Because resisting an idea is human nature 101.  Even for some of those who like to be out in front.  And I surmise it’s more of an issue in America, where it seems we are always wondering, regardless of what it is — How can I turn this great idea into cash?  Oh yeah, that ROI thing.  Maybe social media will finally help place “building a community” and “establishing a brand” above ROI once and for all. (Where they should be) Whether we are talking about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, your blog – it’s all the same.  Embrace them now and they will love you back.

In this 4 part blog series, Social Media Content 101, we’ll focus on 3 major areas:

1. How you can benefit from social media content
2. Types of social media content
3. How you can get it all done

By going through these three areas and understanding how the information can apply to your business, you can make the very most of social media and stay out in front of your competitors. In terms of getting your feet wet, you may want to contribute first by joining existing discussions on other content. See what they are talking about and what types of content are the most popular.

So, let’s get right into it:

HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

How exactly do you benefit through social media content? With Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, your blog and all the rest, you can:

• Build new relationships
• Provide thought leadership
• Respond to customers
• Improve search engine rankings
• Use in conjunction with media exposure
• Utilize as a platform for promotions and contests
• Ultimately, improve sales

But let’s be fair, it isn’t just the ROI issue which stops companies from jumping in with social media.  In fact, there are a number of other issues that various surveys cite including lack of knowledge, lack of executive resistance, etc.

The bottom line: Social Media is about influence, connection and brand.  When considering this, it’s important to ask a few key questions: Who is your audience?  Who will you connect with?  What’s your strategy?  These are all things that you want to think about and plan for.  If you haven’t done it yet, get yourself a calendar and start mapping out what you want to do.

The great thing about social media is that we are able to do things that we’ve never done before, more efficiently, at a higher level. Through these platforms we can facilitate new relationships, new conversations, positive influence and close customer interaction…all at a faster rate than ever before.

If you’re old enough to remember what life was like before the Internet, all this stuff used to happen at conferences, the workplace or through a social service group or association.  My, how times have changed. And for the better!  Social media is taking us to exciting places!

…Look for Part 2 on Monday, March 29th